Several Dees set to return for Casey

Several Demons back but I suspect not Jake Spencer (shoulder) or Troy Davis (hamstring).

James Magner plays his 100th VFL game but I'm never sure whether one should congratulate a player when he reaches that milestone.

Several Dees set to return for Casey

Several Demons back but I suspect not Jake Spencer (shoulder) or Troy Davis (hamstring).

James Magner plays his 100th VFL game but I'm never sure whether one should congratulate a player when he reaches that milestone.

Yes. It's the second tier comp and still a good achievement.

Nice to see most of the key Casey players will play this week. Should make a huge difference to their fortunes you would think.

Mitch Clisby should also be back having served out his three game suspension?

No Spencer, Davis or Clisby leaves Casey with 10 MFC listed players. Werribee is involved in a partial alignment and has six North Melbourne players. The Tigers have ended Casey's season at this stage for the last three years:-

VFL FIRST SEMI FINAL

CASEY SCORPIONS vs WERRIBEE TIGERS

Sunday 8 September

at Northport Oval 2:10pm

(ABC1TV,Aussie Digital,Vision Australia Radio,Casey Radio)

CASEY SCORPIONS

Backs Riseley Panozza Jetta

Half backs J Tynan Sellar L Tynan

Centreline Lindsay Gent Nicholls

Half forwards Petropoulos Smith Bail

Forwards Taggert Gillies Best

Followers Gawn Couch Magner

Interchange (from) Barry Corry Hillard* Hughes Matthews Lang Page Plummer Troutman

WERRIBEE TIGERS

WERRIBEE TIGERS

Backs Wormald Kennedy Sherlock

Half backs Meredith Clouston Sodomaco

Centreline Sierakowski B Ross McDonald*

Half forwards Maric Warren Harper

Forwards Castello B Brown Moore

Followers Currie Martiniello Gysberts

Interchange (from) Bolton Davis Fort Laracy McGenniss McKinley Ruggles Speight W Sullivan

* 23rd player

(Winner to play Box Hill Hawks in 2nd Preliminary Final on Sunday September 15)

Would have to beat the tiger/ roos with that line up.

especially with Gysberts as the rover.

Magner will clean him up in the first 5 min.

Where's Clisby! Still can't believe we didn't fight that suspension.

The werribee team has a big ruck and good midfield. Should be a tight game

Sodomaco sounds like he could be a bit dangerous in close.

Clisby going back to SA, MFC told him to. No Casey for him

Clisby going back to SA, MFC told him to. No Casey for him

Why?

Clisby going back to SA, MFC told him to. No Casey for him

So we let Clisby take three matches for being in the vicinity of a popped shoulder without contesting because we did not want to jeopardise his chances to play finals, didn't we?

I give up trying to work out the logic. Oh maybe he has picked up a calf strain in his time off like Davis, Magner and any number of others in recent weeks. Boy some of our guys are fragile.

My match preview

For the Casey Scorpions, tomorrow's game against the Werribee Tigers is all about exorcising the demons of recent past losses in big games.

The Scorpions have been knocked out of finals contention in straight sets and at the Semi Final stage three years in a row, the last two being at the hands of Werribee. On both occasions, the team was reduced by injuries to a mere handful of AFL listed players and was duly thumped by the Tigers who thereby took their place in the competition's top four, a result which not only kept them alive for the finals but also handed them representation in the prestigious Foxtel Cup competition.

When the teams met earlier this year in Round 13 at Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee was coming off a defeat in a midweek Foxtel Cup final played in heavy rain in Perth. Casey was expected to easily beat a seemingly tired opposition and slammed on the first three goals in quick time. They led by a goal at quarter-time, but then Werribee added 10 goals to one second quarter to set up a 56 point win. To add insult to injury, the win was set up by former Demon, Addam Maric's five goals haul.

So Casey faces its tenth consecutive final's defeat in a period that stretches back to 2008 and prior to the alignment with Melbourne.

A month ago, it seemed that the Scorpions would have a strong contingent of around 18 players eligible to play in the finals series but injuries and retirements have reduced the number down to ten this week. Three important outs are top goalkicker, Jesse Hogan who was announced this week as the best Melbourne VFL player for 2013, ruckman Jake Spencer and Troy Davis who was a steady influence in a key defensive position in the early part of the season.

Casey does have the advantage of midfield ball magnets James Magner and Tom Couch reunited for the first time since Couch injured a hamstring in that game earlier in the year at Werribee. They will be working at the feet of Max Gawn who polled five JJ Liston votes in his last two VFL games. James Sellar will add some decent height to the side while youngsters in Rory Taggert, Josh Tynan and Dom Barry will be out to impress the new coaching regime at Melbourne.

Casey has developed a few handy VFL listed players over the past couple of seasons. Jake Best has been a big story in 2013. The Casey/South Melbourne district cricket captain has created great interest among AFL scouts with his pace and great goal sense. Mitch Gent has become a prolific ball winner in the middle and nippy Nathan Page is also capable of causing damage. Casey also has the experience of skipper Evan Panozza, former captain Kyle Matthews and Danny Nicholls who will all be working hard to avoid yet another straight sets exit from the finals.

Then there are a few Demons who will be out to impress the new regime. Neville Jetta and Rohan Bail have, for one reason or another, seen limited AFL action this year while Tom Gillies had a shocking start at the club in defence in those early games when the Demons suffered some big thumpings. Since Hogan's injury, he has reinvented himself up forward and needs some big bags to keep his name before the selectors.

The winner of tomorrow's game will play the Box Hill Hawks in the Preliminary Final for a place in the 2013 VFL Grand Final. I'm predicting a change of fortune for Casey and a 24 point win.

Hopefully Best kicks a bag.. Would live to see him in the fwd pocket next year with hogan and Clark!

#worstshow

Several Dees set to return for Casey

Several Demons back but I suspect not Jake Spencer (shoulder) or Troy Davis (hamstring).

James Magner plays his 100th VFL game but I'm never sure whether one should congratulate a player when he reaches that milestone.

It's a bit like winning the Liston Trophy.

If Casey can topple the tigers is there any prospect of more Melbourne listed plays coming back from injury or otherwise for the game against Box Hill? Clisby, Spencer, even Hogan? One or two of those could be the difference.

Odds from www.sportsbet.com.au

Casey Scorpions $2.60

Werribee $1.48

($1.90 Line is 13.5pts)

So we let Clisby take three matches for being in the vicinity of a popped shoulder without contesting because we did not want to jeopardise his chances to play finals, didn't we?

I give up trying to work out the logic. Oh maybe he has picked up a calf strain in his time off like Davis, Magner and any number of others in recent weeks. Boy some of our guys are fragile.

Probably something to do with players being required to receive 8 weeks uninterrupted leave.

The earlier it starts, the earlier it ends.

And I imagine Roos has a lot of work to do with the majority of our players.

Clisby will be one.

I expect him to be a serious candidate for upgrade off the rookie list.

Ominous sign for the day when this is being advertised on the EBAY site.

Ominous sign for the day when this is being advertised on the EBAY site.

whos jumper is it ?

I wonder if Roos will be there today or does he start work on Monday as he said in his press conference.

BTW I hope no one has an "I believe in Roos" on their below the line posts.

Welcome all to Northport Oval. Port Melbourne, home of the burraburger and the once dominant but now vanquished Port Melbourne Football Club.

The weather's fine and we're in for a great game.

If you can't make it down here, the game's on ABC1 free to air.

Dom Barry not in the selected side:-

CASEY SCORPIONS

Backs Riseley Sellar L Tynan

Half backs Jetta Panozza J Tynan

Centreline Bail Crouch Nicholls

Half forwards Petropoulos Best Lindsay

Forwards Taggert Gillies Smith

Followers Gawn Magner Gent

Interchange Corry Hillard* Page Plummer Troutman

* 23rd player

Todd Medal winner (development league b & f) Aiden Lindsay snaps around the corner for first goal 20 seconds into the game.

Addem Maric repeats the dose 1 minute later.

Tim Smith marks and scores Casey's second. It's raining goals early.

Goal for goal with Werribee leveling the scores at 2.1.13 each.